Partnership wins silver award at the UK ARIAS 2023

Last night (2 May 2023), members of the Shannon Trust team attended the Audio and Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS), having been nominated for Best Commercial Partnership for their sponsorship of Free Flow with Prison Radio Association (PRA).

Shannon Trust and PRA were among some incredible nominees and winners, picking up the silver award for their partnership.

Karen Ryan, Director of Prison Delivery at Shannon Trust, who has been working closely with the PRA team, was delighted to hear about the win.

“We are so pleased to hear about the Prison Radio Association award at the ARIAS last night,” she said. “It’s a fantastic achievement that we are very happy to be a part of. Our partnership with the Free Flow programme helps us engage more people in prison around the benefits and values of words on a creative level that we hope will inspire more to improve their literacy skills with Shannon Trust. Congratulations to all involved.”

Shannon Trust is in the first year of sponsoring Free Flow, a weekly show broadcast across prison cells in England and Wales. Hosted by Lady Unchained, the programme has featured mentors sharing their experiences, helping to reach more people who might benefit from the support of Shannon Trust.

Andrew Wilkie, Deputy Chief Executive at Prison Radio Association, commented on the partnership: “Free Flow is a special show for listeners in prison. The programme’s presenter Lady Unchained encourages her audience to use words in a way that’s creative, expressive and therapeutic. Partnering with Shannon Trust for this programme has allowed us to take this creativity to the next level – we can engage with listeners in new ways, while enhancing the amazing work Shannon Trust does across the country, all using the power of radio. We’re delighted the ARIAS judges recognised the strength of this partnership, ranking us up there with the likes of Magic Radio and talkSPORT.”

The PRA team go above and beyond to promote Shannon Trust, while allowing people in prison to be creative and powerful with words. It’s an honour to be part of this silver award winning programme.

Congratulations to all the other nominees and winners.